Bash Scripting in Linux Variable/Array Assignment

Question

I'm trying to make my shell script similar to ordering at a fast food restaurant. However, I'm confused as to how to set arrays to determine the size of the drink the customer wishes to order. My sizes are as follows:

small=12oz
medium=16oz
large=20oz
xlarge =24oz

I have my shell script programmed to read the customers input for $size but I don't know how to translate the word "small" into an oz amount when customer declares their size. I as going to use the eval “$size="` option but what do I put so that it can vary? Will x be sufficient?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Try an associative lookup.

$: declare -A drink=(
    [small]=12oz
    [medium]=16oz
    [large]=20oz
   )
$: choice=medium
$: echo "${drink[$choice]}"
16oz
$: drink[xlg]=32oz
$: choice=xlg
$: echo "${drink[$choice]}"
32oz

Watch the syntax, though, it's kind of a pain.